A Jaw-Dropping Series of Crown Sculptures

Onik Agaronyan’s skull-and-crown sculptures are all hand-forged in copper.

In the grand tradition of Dutch vanitas paintings and medieval funerary art, Onik Agaronyan’s striking skull-and-crown sculptures symbolize the fleeting glories of this world and the inevitability of death. “No matter how wealthy or powerful you are, no matter how many jewels you’ve collected, in the end there’s no way to escape mortality,” explains the Los Angeles–based artist. Agaronyan began the series by researching archival material and finding inspiration in everything from Albrecht Dürer etchings to bishops’ miters and antique ecclesiastical carved-wood figures. The pieces are all hand-forged in copper, with no precast parts, and several are finished in gold and silver plate. The artist further embellished his dazzling creations with natural pearls, rock crystal, amethyst, lapis lazuli, agate, citrine, and other semiprecious stones. He spends roughly one month on each piece, depending on the complexity, and the results of his meticulous efforts are plain to see in the exquisite detailing.

Agaronyan’s crowns are available through Downtown, L.A.’s beloved showroom of vintage decorative arts, with prices ranging from $12,000 to $35,000. Those may seem like princely sums, but after all, these monarch-worthy treasures are meant to reinforce the basic moral of the vanitas genre: You can’t take it with you.